Mechanism for transforming linear movement of one member into arcuate or angular movement of another member or vice versa with particular reference to screw and nut typesteering gears



19, J. G. DOUGLAS 2, MECHANISM FOR TRANSFORMINC LINEAR MOVEMENT OF ONE MEMBER INTO ARCUATE 0R ANGULAR MOVEMENT OF ANOTHER MEMBER 0R VICE-VERSA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO SCREW AND NUT-TYPE STEERING GEARS Filed Feb. 1, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet l I l, X P j [I I 5 I I I 1' 7 l I ','1' 1' w m a QR Z I I T I f 8 I T r a 1 4 l \L "I T g Y J a. f v Q N\\\\\\\\\ \\\-\\\1 2 Inventor A ttorneys Aug. 10, 1948. J. G. DOUGLAS MECHANISM FOR TRANSFORMING LINEAR MOVEMENT OF ONE MEMBER INTO ARCUATE OR ANGULAR MOVEMENT OF ANOTHER MEMBER OR VICE-VERSA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO SCREW AND NUT-TYPE STEERING GEARS 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1,

I n uentor By a a A ttorneys Aug. 10, 1948. J DOUGLAS 2,446,911 MECHANISM FOR TRANSFORMING LINEAR MOVEMENT OF oNE MEMBER INTO ARcuATE 0R ANGULAR MOVEMENT OF ANOTHER MEMBER OR VICE-VERSA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE To scREw AND NUT-TYPE STEERING GEARS Filed Feb. 1, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor Patented Aug. 10, 1948 MECHANISM FQR TRANSFORWHNG LINEAR MOVEMEN-T OF ONE MEIVEBERR lNTO*ARG.U"-' AETE OE ANGULAR MQVEIVIENT' OF AN-* OTHER MEMBER OR VICE. \EERSA: WITH; PARTIGULARREFERENCE TO- SCREW AND NUT TYPESTEERING GEARS .lohn George Douglas, Aberieluiy, S'ootiand Application February 1, 1945, Serial No.. 57.5,67lt In Great Britain February 7,1944

8 Claims. (01. 71-499) This. invention relates to transmission mechanism of the kind wherein a single rocker arm or lever is adapted to be angul'arly displaced by movement, of an associated member, suchangular. displacement being utilised to actuate or control movable components such, for example, as automobile road wheels, ship's" rudders, aircraft rudders, ailerons, landing gear and bomb-bay doors. The invention has particular application to automobile steering gears which employ transmission devices of the screw and nut type wherein a. rocker arm adapted to be actuated by the nut is connected to a drop arm or equivalent device for transmitting steering movements to the road wheels.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified transmission mechanism ofthe. kind and for the purposes above indicated. and which possesses the advantages thatva. short pit-ch and low helix angle can. be used in the input device; the number'oi rotations of the input device between. extreme angularpositions of. the rocker arm can. be reduced; the efiects on the. input. device of backward forces operating. on the drop arm or its equivalent; can be prevented to a substantial degree; the amount of wear between the. moving and stationary parts of the mechanism can be reduced: and. to enable certain desirable movement relations, leverages andv the like, such as increased mechanical advantage. to be simply and efficiently obtained, particularly a high ratio or small number of turns of the input device when the rocker arm at and near its median angular position but without liability to excessive backward forces on said device at this or any other position of rocker arm.

According to the invention a screw andv nut transmission mechanism is provided of the kind wherein the. translative. movement of the nut is applied to the arcuately movable part of an outputv rockingv arm characterised by the provision of means to compensate for the arcuate movement of said rocking arm. whilst. saidmeans also prevent rotation. of the nutto any substantial degree during. its movement of translation.

According to one form of the invention a screw and nut. transmission mechanism of the kind wherein: movement. of the. nut is applied. to the arcuately movable part of an output rocking arm characterised. bythe provision oi interengaging means between said. nut and said. arm and compensating means carried by said arm whereby the said interengaging means takes a substantially straight line path during the transfative movement of' the nut.

According to another form of the inventiona screw and nut transmission mechanismof the kind wherein the axially translative' movement" of the nut is applied to the arcuatel-ymovable part of a' pivoted output element is characterised by a pin or' stud adapted to engage anaperture in the nut, the said pin or stud being carried-ed centrically in a toothed component movably mounted on thesaidoutput element and meshing with a. fixed toothed component for the purpose oi causing movement of the saidpin or studirr adi'recti'on to follow or produce axial-movementof the said nut.

Reference will now bemade to the accompanying drawings which illustrate byway ofi example constructions according tothe invention and inwhich:

Fig. I is a side elevation of one iormof the improved screw and nut" transmission gear with the cover plate partly removed,

Fig; 2 is a cross sectional elevation takenon:- the line 2-2 of Fig; I,

Fig. 3 isa side elevation of an-alternativefomr of construction with thecover plate partly broken away,

Fig. 4' is a cross sectional elevation taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig, 5- is a diagram toillustrate the movement transmitted by the mechanism according to the invention.

Referring first to I and 2, the transmission mechanism comprises anut a mounted on the screw-threaded end b of an-input shaft d which may be the operating shaft of a steering gear. The nut a is mounted-so as to slide in the manner of a piston in a boree formed in an outer casing c; There isalso mounted within the housing 0' a double thrust bearingf= for the shaft d and its: screw-threaded portion 12', or, alternatively, whenthe-invention isapplied to a steering gear, this bearing may be disposed at or near the upper end. of the steering column or shaft in place of the more usual journal bearing at that point. One si'deof then-Ht a is formed with a hole or recess 1" in which engages a peg k' of" partially spherical shape, as shown in Fig. 2 which is carried eccentrical'lyontheinner face-of a control gear or s-eo tor 7'- which in turn is part of or mounted on a spindle i rotatably carried in the head or outer" end of a rocker armit formed integral with or fixed to a rocker shaft a which forms the output shaft of the mechanism and is mechanically con nected to the drop arm or other devicethrouglr 7' meshes with a toothed gear 112 fast to the inner,

face of the chamber or housing 0 with its tooth pitch circle concentric with the axis of the rocker ment to the rocker arm h is substantially reduced because the rocker arm h is advanced beyond, or gains over, the peg k by an amount which may be equal to twice the radius .1, and as the peg=k only is'connected' to the nutv a and alone determines its axial travel, the total travel .of. the nut a is also reduced by a linear distance "which may be equal to twice the radius or amount '32. This result is also plotted in Fig. 5 from which it will be seen that the extent or radius a: by which the axes of spindle i and peg k are noncoincident provides an axial travel of the nut a equivalent to"displacing the peg it through 58 degrees with a displacement of the rocker arm the peg k which travels towards the'one'side'or other of the central position of the arm h which is thereby caused to move angularly and impart a partial rotary movement to the rocker shaft g and operate the mechanism under control. Y

When the rocker arm h moves as above described, the control gear 7' rolls upon and in mesh with the fixed gear m so that the spindle i is caused to rotate in the head of the rocker arm h in planet wheel or epicyclic manner. The axis of the peg k is also caused to move and rotate around theaxis of the spindle i at radius a: and become out ofline with the axes of spindle i and rocker shaft 9 and this movement increases its distance or radius from the axis of the rocker shaft 9. The extent of rotation of spindle i and, therefore, of the increase of radius from the axis of the peg k to the axis of the rocker shaft 9 is proportional to the extent of angular movement of the rocker arm h, and according to the dimensions of the associated parts of the construction described and the gear pitch circles, this increase of radius. can ,be arranged so that the path through which the axis of the peg Ic travels and, therefore, the :path of recess l in the periphery of the nut is substantialy a straight line running parallel with the axis of the nut irrespective of the arcuate path followed by the head of the rocker arm h and the spindle 2'. Therefore, as shown in the diagram Fig. 5 substantially no rotation of the nut a occursthroughout its axial travel. 4

A further result obtained by the arrangement described is that the leverage radius from the axis of the peg is to the axis of the rocker shaft g re- 7 mains at substantially all positions of the rocker arm h equal to its value at the median or ahead position, and accordingly when the invention is applied to a steering gear no loss of leverage occurs towards or at the full lock positions nor at any part of the gear movement.

Simultaneously with the operations above described and also owing to the eccentric rotation of the peg axis about the-spindle axis, the rocker arm h becomes angularlyadvanced ahead of the peg k by a maximum of radius a: and to an extent governed by the extent of rotation which is in turn governed by the extent of angular displacement of the rocker arm h from the median position illustrated. The said advancement or gain of the position of the rocker arm h relative to the peg k at the median position is nil but becomes maximum at or before the lock positions, this result being shown in the broken line positions in Fig. l and also in the diagram Fig. 5.

Simultaneously with the two actions above de scribed-the total travel of the nut a required to impart the desired large extent of angular movespindle i is 'of conical form and has a control gear '1" fast 'to' its "outer end meshing with a toothed sector m which is fixed to the inner face of the cover plate p of the housing 0. The arrangement and operation are otherwise similar to that of the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In both forms of the invention axial or endwise adjustment of the rocker shaft 9 and its associated parts may be effected by means of shims 11. inserted between the cover plate 29 and the housing 0, the efiect of this insertion being to keep the peg k snugly engaged in the recess 1 and also to keep the back face of the control gear 7' and the inner face of the rocker arm h in close contact. Alternatively, a pressure-screw in cover plate p lineable with axis of shaft 9 may be used.

In the arrangement of Figs. 3 and 4 the said axial adjustment of the rocker shaft will also serve to take up any play or wear between the spindle i and its bearing in the head of the rocker arm h.

When either form of the invention above described is applied to a vehicle steering gear and other mechanisms, a short pitch and low helix angle can be used in the screw and nut without an unduly large ratio or number of turns of the hand steering wheel or other control element from lock to lock and without undue restriction of the angular movement imparted to the rocker arm 71.,

but the ratio at and near the median position of rocker arm is geared-up appreciably above the normal or overall ratio of the short pitch and low helix-angle which nevertheless remains operative against backward forces at. the median and ducing the amount of travel of the nut to the minimum and thereby avoiding the necessity for a long pitch screw and a high helix angle undue kick-back at the hand steering wheel or other control element caused by road shocks or other backward fOllCeS operating at the drop arm or its nut may be and preferably are of the recirculating ball type described in my prior U. S. Patent No. 2,322,000, granted June 15, 1943. Further, the casing 0 may also support bearings of known type for the screw-threaded portion b' of the shaft By red in which case the nut a in the casing c.

I claim:

1. A vehicle steering gear including a screwthreaded spindle actuated by a steering wheel, a nut adapted to be moved axially by rotary movements of said spindle, a rocker arm through which movement is transmitted to a drop arm or the like of a steering transmission mechanism, a toothed gear rotatably mounted on the free end of said rocker arm, a pin or stud mounted on and eccentrically to the of gear and in permanent engagement with a recess in said nut, and a second toothed fixed concentrically and iminovably around the axis of rotation of the said rocker arm and meshing with the first toothed gear whereby during axial movement of the nut movement is imparted to said rocker arm through the said or stud which makes substantially a straight line movement.

2. A screw and nut transmission mechanism, comprising a casing, a screw threaded input shaft rotatably mounted in said casing, a nut capable of axial movement on said shaft, an output shaft mounted in said casing, an arcuately movable rocking arm carried by said output shaft, a pin engaging an aperture in the nut, a toothed component movably mounted on said arm and carrying said pin, and a fixed toothed component meshing with said movable toothed component.

3. A screw and nut transmission mechanism, comprising a casing, a screw rotatably mounted therein, a nut mounted to travel axially along the screw, a shaft rotatably mounted in the casing and having a rocking arm fixed thereto, and connecting means between the nut and rocking arm including epicyclic gearing for holding the nut from rotation and for transmitting motion between the screw and rocking arm.

4. A transmission mechanism according to claim 3, wherein said connecting means comprises a pin carried by said epicyclic gearing and engaging the nut, and said pin is guided by said epicyclic gearing in a substantially rectilinear path during angular movement of said rocking arm.

5. A transmission mechanism according to claim 3, wherein said connecting means comprises a pin carried by said epicyclic gearing and engaging said nut, and said pin is guided by said epicyclic gearing in a substantially rectilinear path during angular movement of said rocking arm, and wherein said pin is disposed relatively to said epicyclic gearing to be nearest to the axis of said shaft while said nut is substantially at the mid-point in its travel along said screw.

6. A screw and nut transmission mechanism, comprising a casing, a screw rotatably mounted therein, a nut mounted to travel axially along the screw, a shaft rotatably mounted in the casing and having an arm fixed thereto, a gear fixed to the casing concentrically of said shaft, a pinion mounted rotatably on said arm and meshing may be a clearance fit with said gear, and a pin carried by the pinion and engaging the nut, said pin being eccentric to the axis of the pinion and located within the pitch diameter thereof, and disposed between the axes of the pinion and said shaft while the nut is in its mid-position along the screw.

7. A screw and nut transmission mechanism, comprising a casing, a screw rotatably mounted therein, a nut mounted to travel axially along the screw, a shaft rotatably mounted in the casing and having an arm fixed thereto, a gear fixed to the casing concentrically of said shaft, a pinion mounted rotatably on said arm and meshing with said gear, and a pin carried by the nien eccentrically of its axis and within its pitch diameter and engaging the nut, the axis of the pinion being at a radial distance from the of said shaft greater than the radius of said gear, and said pin being disposed between the axes of the pinion and said shaft While the nut is in its mid-position along the screw and disposed at relatively opposite sides of the axis of the pinion while the nut is toward one or the other end of the screw.

8. A screw and nut transmission mechanism, comprising a casing, a screw threaded input shaft rotatably mounted in said casing, a nut mounted on and capable of axially translative movement relatively to said shaft and having a recess in one side thereof, an output shaft mounted in said casing for connection to the component to be actuated or controlled, an arcuately movable rocking arm carried by said output shaft and movable about the axis of the latter as a fixed center relatively to said nut, and rotational driving connections between said nut and said rochin arm which prevent rotation of said nut to any substantial degree during its translative movement, including a toothed member fixed in the casing concentrically to the axis of the output shaft, a second toothed member meshing with the first toothed member and rotatably mounted at the free end of said arm, and a pin or stud mounted eccentrically to the tooth pitch circle of said second toothed member and engaging in said recess in the nut.

JOHN GEORGE DOUGLAS.

REFERENCES CiTED .The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,167,330 Bishop Jan. 4, 1916 1,512,424 Jones Oct. 21, 1924 1,967,482 Schmidt July 24, 1934 2,145,751 Briggs Jan. 31, 1939 2,159,225 Phelps May 23, 1939 2,233,248 Douglas Feb. 25, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 442,414 France June 20, 1912 

